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Marcel laughed. “That’s rich considering that your random pieces of ass are the reason that we ended up here in the first place.”
I rolled my eyes. Marcel looked at me, the smile slipping off of his face. “Seriously, though, we need to set a game plan for the next few weeks.”
“A game plan?” I asked. “I thought the game plan was that we were going to introduce ‘us’ at this charity ball.” I hadn’t had a chance to run that past Annie yet, but I knew that she would understand. One thing that I knew with certainty was that she would agree to what needed to be done.
“We are, but we need to make sure that people understand that she’s not just a piece of arm candy. You need to be seen around the city with her. People need to think this is serious.”
I pressed a finger to my temple. This conversation was starting to give me a headache. “This is serious.”
Marcel nodded. “Yes, but we need to make sure that this is what people are talking about instead of that hit piece, especially because I expect that more women will start coming out of the woodwork once you announce your candidacy.”
Groaning, I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. Months ago, when I’d gone to Marcel to help me launch this, I hadn’t expected to have to change my entire life to do it.
“Don’t look so glum,” he said. “Everything is working out just as we planned. Hell, it’s working better. People are going to eat this romance to pieces. Every girl in the city is going to think about how magical your romance is. I can see the headlines now “Midwest Maiden catches New York’s most eligible mayor.”
I rolled my eyes. “Nice alliteration,” I said. Unlike Marcel I wasn’t so sure that things were going to go so smoothly. “We’ve still got O’Connor to deal with.” Things had been in flux the last few days with Annie that I’d not given O’Connor much thought.
“He kicked off with a great announcement,” Marcel said, grudging respect in his tone. “I’ve heard Sawyer is at the helm of his candidacy. I might actually hire him after we win.”
“Nice loyalty you’ve got there.”
Marcel laughed. “I can’t let someone like that run around and not work for me.”
I shook my head. “I’m glad that you are on my side,” I told him. “I’d hate to have you as an enemy.”
“You really would.”
I laughed. Marcel could be a hardass, and sometimes his methods were ones that I didn’t necessarily agree with, he was still my best friend. “What are we going to do about good ol’ Patty?” I asked.
I stood up from the table and walked to my bar cart. It had been a long day, and I needed a drink. “You want one?” I asked, pouring myself a tall glass of Scotch.
Marcel shook his head. “No,” he told me. I raised a brow. I’d never known Marcel not to have a drink when offered one. “I’m having dinner with my mother after this, and if I show up with alcohol on my breath, I’m never going to hear the end of it.”
I nodded. My mother was difficult, but Marcel’s made her look like a delightful time. “The O’Connor’s aren’t going to be a problem. They took the anti-crime angle, which is laughable considering half the family has been fighting with the Blanchis and the Petrovs for decade, and the other half went legit to help keep them out of prison.”
“It was an odd angle to take,” I admitted, taking a sip of the amber liquid in my glass.
“They know that that’s the angle you are taking. They are setting themselves up as the opposite of you.”
I snorted. “Makes sense considering that I’m anti-mob.”
“They are also setting themselves up as the pro-family candidate. Did you not see how he brought out his wife and kids?”
I nodded. “It’s what spurred me to ensure that Annie was on my side.” Because as much as I hated it, Marcel was being proven right. The O’Connor’s were a tight knit family, and by parading that out to people, Patty was showing how much of a family man he was. Men might want to be me, and women might want me to fuck them, but Marcel was right, they weren’t going to trust me to fix this city.
“After the ball, I want to see you two everywhere. Getting breakfast in the morning, her bringing you lunch…You need to make sure that the two of you give off the impression of being perfectly in love.”
I nodded and drained the rest of the liquid in my cup. “I’m heading over to see Annie first thing tomorrow to prepare her for the event. I’ll talk to her about it then.” Annie was finicky to say the least. She’d signed the contract with little fanfare, but she’d made it clear that she wasn’t interested in any sort of physical affection from me. We were going to have to take care of that when we were out in public.
“Bring her around the office when you get a chance,” Marcel said. “I want to meet her.”
“I’ll be sure not to do that.”
Marcel laughed as he got up from his chair. He walked over to me, clasping me on the shoulder. “By the end of the week, you’ll be the next candidate for mayor of New York City.”
I nodded, giving my oldest friend a smile. “And in the year, I’ll be the mayor.”
“You will.”
